Local school districts hoping to sell school bus advertisements

David Levinsky @davidlevinsky

Friday

Aug 31, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2012 at 6:00 AM

School buses might look a little different in some Burlington County school districts this year.

In addition to transporting children to and from school, the yellow vehicles might also be able to help lower parents’ property taxes by doubling as billboards for banks, cable companies and restaurants.

At least that’s the idea being kicked around in Medford and Mount Laurel, where officials are planning to move forward with plans to sell advertisements on the outside of their fleets of buses.

“We’re going to give it a whirl,” Mount Laurel Superintendent of Schools Antoinette Rath said last week about the concept, which was preliminarily OK’d by the school board Tuesday when it approved on first reading a new district advertising policy.

Medford Board of Education President Michael Etter said his district has already contracted with a North Jersey advertising firm with the intention of selling billboard space on its bus fleet as well as on buildings, fields and athletic team uniforms.

“We want to get going (with sales) as soon as possible,” Etter said. “The idea actually originated here, but we’ve had to wait a while for the state to give its approval.”

Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation in January 2011 permitting districts to sell space on school bus exteriors, but districts had to wait until May for the New Jersey State Board of Education to approve regulations detailing how the advertising should be carried out.

The law and regulations require that half of any revenue generated from the ads be used to defray fuel costs for busing students. The other half may be used for school programs and services of the district’s choosing.

Local school boards are required to approve all advertisements. Content promoting gambling, tobacco, alcohol or sexual products are prohibited, as are those that “depict or glamorize violent, antisocial or sexual conduct.”

Advertisements deemed political, religious, issues-related, controversial or age-inappropriate are also prohibited under the state’s regulations.

Such restrictions shouldn’t pose a problem for Mount Laurel and other districts, Rath said, adding that the district policy mirrors the state rules.

“It requires all advertisements be approved by the board ahead of time, and nothing controversial is permitted,” she said.

Finding advertisers and approving ad content may seem like a hassle, but the potential for more revenue makes the concept enticing.

“Other states have gone down this road and found that the income is substantive,” Rath said. “Companies see it as a good way of branding. … I anticipate many districts will look at this as a supplemental source of income.”

How much revenue is still a big unknown. The Mullica Hill-based Education Information and Resource Center is forming a consortium of school districts interested in selling bus ad space and expects proceeds to range from $500 to $2,000 a bus, depending on the number of advertisements and vehicles.

At that rate, Mount Laurel, a kindergarten-to-eighth grade district with a fleet of 51 buses, could earn somewhere close to $25,000-$100,000 per school year.

Jack Calkin, the resource center’s director of information technology and its point man for the bus advertising program, said that about 20 districts statewide have already joined the group and that two businesses, Comcast and Muscle Maker Grill, have entered contracts to advertise.

No Burlington County school districts have joined so far, but Calkin said the consortium is ready to assist districts that are interested in selling ad space on their buses. He said the resource center acts as the contact for both advertisers and school districts.

“It’s a great way to receive checks to offset budgets, and (districts) don’t have to do anything,” Calkin said.

Etter said that it was too early to know how much revenue the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade district might be able to generate from its buses and buildings, but that any additional revenues would help with finances.

“The sky’s the limit. We’re looking to bring in whatever we can,” he said.

David Levinsky: 609-871-8154;

email: dlevinsky@phillyBurbs.com; Twitter: @davidlevinsky

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Follow Us

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Burlington County Times ~ 116 Burrs Rd., Suite B, Westampton, NJ 08060 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service